AMARILLO, TEXAS -- On Sunday, at 6:53 AM, officers responded to a call of shots fired in the 700 block of S. Bivins. A second call, this one reporting a disturbance at 709 S. Bivins, came in. Officers arriving on Bivins found a woman in the driver's seat of a white vehicle in the driveway at 709 S. Bivins. The driver's side window had been broken. The woman reported that there had been a family dispute involving her and three relatives in the driveway of the home. One person involved was her estranged husband, age 30.
She said that her husband had gun and fired shots during the dispute, then went back into the home. The female said that there were several children in the house with her husband. The other adults that had been involved had left before officers arrived. Officers called the home to make contact with the man inside. What sounded like very young children answered the phone and hung up, but her husband did not answer. A warrants check showed that this man had an outstanding felony warrant for probation violation on a forgery charge. Due to the circumstance, SWAT and negotiators were called out. SWAT officers started using the public address system from a truck parked in the front yard to make contact with the man.
At about 8:20 AM, six children came out the front door to the SWAT officers in front of the home. SWAT entered the home and located one more child. The male was not there and no firearm was found. The children range from ages one to seven and were returned to various family members at the scene. The officers have located no physical evidence that shots were fired at this point in the investigation. Her husband, reportedly involved, may have left the home and the children inside after the initial 911 call, before officers arrived.
No arrests have been made, there were no injuries. The children belong to relatives of the adults that were supposed to be in the home but were not when officers arrived. Officers interviewed a number of people and are still investigating this incident.
